Monday, May 17, 2010

Amanda's Chicken Parmesan

I may or may not have a cheese addiction. And by "may not" I mean I totally do. This weekend I asked my twitter peeps what they'd like to see more of on my blog. I got some great requests and suggestions. One of them was for more pictorial posts for those not so adept in the kitchen (thanks @Avalea!), and another was for me to post my weekly meal plan (as per my meal plan post) every week so that some hard working moms could follow it. I'm always happy to oblige.

This is one of my favourite pasta recipes. I LOVVVVVE Chicken Parmesan. Noodles, breaded tender chicken breast, and cheese... mmmmmm. Comfort food at it's best. I have a pretty busy week ahead and I wanted to start it off right with this dish. It sounds complicated but it's pretty simple.

(Please excuse the pitiful photography, my kitchen is pretty dark in the evenings and I haven't mastered the fine art of cooking with one hand and shooting with the other yet!)

Start by placing your chicken breasts (one at a time) between some plastic wrap and pounding the living daylights out of it until it's an even thickness. This ensures even cooking, also, it's a great stress reliever after a hard day.Ignore that sticker on my mallet, that sucker just won't come off!

Now you're gonna need to set up a little breading station. In one shallow dish you'll need flour, which I season with some sea salt & freshly ground pepper. In the 2nd you need some eggs that are lightly beaten and in the 3rd, bread crumbs. I like to use seasoned Italian bread crumbs to which I add a little hot pepper flake action. Piccante!

Now to bread, don't worry, you can do this. First put your chicken in the flour turning to coat both sides. This gives the egg something to stick to. Then dredge the floured chicken in the egg mixture. Then move your floured/egged (is that a word, egged? it is now) chicken to the bread crumbs. Place in the bread crumbs and press down lightly to get the bread crumbs to really stick to the chicken, Then flip it over and press down again.

Heat a little extra-virgin Olive Oil in a skillet and brown your chicken cutlets until golden. They're not fully cooked yet, but don't worry, they'll finish in the oven. I'm not trying to get anyone to eat under-cooked chicken!

Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and cover with your favourite pasta sauce. Homemade or bottled, your call. Then top with some shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Mmmmm. Cheese.

Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes. In the meantime cook some of your favourite pasta to al dente.Top your cooked pasta with more pasta sauce and a cheesy, saucy chicken cutlet. Now mangi!(that's supposed to be eat in Italian, hope I got it right!)

1. Start by placing your chicken breasts (one at a time) between some plastic wrap and pounding it until it's an even thickness. This ensures even cooking.2. Pat the chicken breasts with paper towel to dry them off.3. Set up a little breading station. In the first dish put the flour, seasoned with some sea salt & freshly ground pepper. In the 2nd put the eggs and lightly beat. In the 3rd put the bread crumbs and add the hot pepper flakes. stirring to mix.4. One at a time, put the chicken in the flour turning to coat both sides. This gives the egg something to stick to.5. Then dredge the floured chicken in the egg mixture.6. Then move the chicken to the bread crumbs. Place in the bread crumbs and press down lightly to get the breadcrumbs to really stick to the chicken, Then flip it over and press down again.7. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken cutlets until golden.8. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and cover with the pasta sauce. Then top with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese.9. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes.10. In the meantime cook some of your favourite pasta to al dente.11. Top the cooked pasta with more pasta sauce and a chicken cutlet.